Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Gettysburg 150th coverage theme song: "I ride at dawn"
Such a major coverage effort for Gettysburg 150th deserves a little fun, a little storytelling, a theme, a vibe. We've christened our workspace "The Redoubt," after a defensive position built by the Iron Brigade on Day 1, according to Marc Charisse.
And I offer this as our theme song, from Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite (lyrics below). It evokes the occasion in words and tone:
Like my father
And his father, and his father before
Watch the soil burn in the fire
War after war
Done things I didn't know I could
For the common good
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
Give a man a hundred years
And he'll want a hundred more
Give him a hundred choices
And he still chooses war
From Salem Poor to Genghis Khan
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
I was born for battle
I was born to bleed
I was born to help those who have dreams of being free
Brother stop your crying, sister dry your eyes
You'll hear my medals ringing from Shreveport to Shabagan
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
At first light, I march to battle
Not my own life, but brothers' I must save
And when you hear those pipes and drummers
You'll know I marched to glory or proudly to my grave
Tell my loved ones they must carry on
For tomorrow I ride at dawn
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
Tell my loved ones they must carry on
For tomorrow I ride at dawn
And I offer this as our theme song, from Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite (lyrics below). It evokes the occasion in words and tone:
Like my father
And his father, and his father before
Watch the soil burn in the fire
War after war
Done things I didn't know I could
For the common good
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
Give a man a hundred years
And he'll want a hundred more
Give him a hundred choices
And he still chooses war
From Salem Poor to Genghis Khan
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
I was born for battle
I was born to bleed
I was born to help those who have dreams of being free
Brother stop your crying, sister dry your eyes
You'll hear my medals ringing from Shreveport to Shabagan
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
At first light, I march to battle
Not my own life, but brothers' I must save
And when you hear those pipes and drummers
You'll know I marched to glory or proudly to my grave
Tell my loved ones they must carry on
For tomorrow I ride at dawn
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
Tomorrow I ride at dawn
Tell my loved ones they must carry on
For tomorrow I ride at dawn
Friday, May 24, 2013
FDR self-edits FTW
Not that this isn't a well-known story, but: I was at the Smithsonian American history museum today and saw FDR's revisions to his Pearl Harbor speech.I think revisions, generally speaking, are where stories are made. And I love self-edits -- when a writer takes a second (or third, or fourth, or ...) look at what he or she has written, and sees it more clearly or in a different light. That new look often results in revisions that make the story, or, in this case, speech, better. (I'm distinguishing here from writers who pick away at their stories for no reason other than they can't bear to let it go).
In FDR's speech, the original line was, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in world history, the United States of America was simultaneously and deliberately attacked by Naval and air forces of the empire of Japan."
I don't even know what "simultaneously" was ever doing in that sentence. But when FDR changed that to "suddenly" and changed "world history" to "infamy," he gave us the speech's most memorable line.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Hey, do you have the notes for that class I missed...?
Roy Peter Clark does.
An absolute treat. Thanks @roypeterclark. --> Writing & reporting advice from 4 of Washington Post’s best | Poynter. bit.ly/13F9gZd
— scott blanchard (@scott_blanchard) May 21, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Jason Plotkin and I discuss "Finding their way out" at Dart Center panel on journalism and trauma
The York Daily Record/Sunday News' project about lasting trauma after the 2003 Red Lion School shooting was awarded an honorable mention in the Dart Center's annual awards for coverage of trauma. Visual journalist Jason Plotkin and I represented the YDR's team -- which included reporter Bill Landauer, graphic artist Sam Dellinger and assistant managing editor for visuals Brad Jennings -- at the ceremony.
Dart Center executive director Bruce Shapiro said there were 100 entries, of which 12 were named finalists. Judges awarded three honorable mentions and named two winners. At around the 12-minute mark, Shapiro had generous words for the winners and those who received honorable mentions.
"The distinctions between winners and honorable mentions are of no consequence in this room," he said. "All of the winners here today are all extraordinary journalists at the highest professional caliber, delving deeply with innovative techniques into the aftermath and impact of violence in ways that no journalist has really done before."
Stick with the video to hear him talk about our project. At about the 51-minute mark, Jason and I are part of a panel in which we answer questions from Shapiro about our project. We're on the panel with two members of the L.A. Times team that put together a great piece on a teen victim of a gang shooting; later, team members from the other honored projects spoke about their pieces. They are all well worth listening to and learning from.
Dart Center executive director Bruce Shapiro said there were 100 entries, of which 12 were named finalists. Judges awarded three honorable mentions and named two winners. At around the 12-minute mark, Shapiro had generous words for the winners and those who received honorable mentions.
"The distinctions between winners and honorable mentions are of no consequence in this room," he said. "All of the winners here today are all extraordinary journalists at the highest professional caliber, delving deeply with innovative techniques into the aftermath and impact of violence in ways that no journalist has really done before."
Stick with the video to hear him talk about our project. At about the 51-minute mark, Jason and I are part of a panel in which we answer questions from Shapiro about our project. We're on the panel with two members of the L.A. Times team that put together a great piece on a teen victim of a gang shooting; later, team members from the other honored projects spoke about their pieces. They are all well worth listening to and learning from.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
All kinds of storytelling goodness ...
...in this piece by Poynter's Roy Peter Clark that breaks down The Boston Globe's narrative of the man who was carjacked by the accused marathon bombers.
Most importantly it shows why narrative-as-newswriting can work, but also what you need to make it work. For me, it reinforces that you can't impose narrative on a news event simply because you want to write it that way; but if you know what you need to do that and are ready to recognize those elements when you see them, you can jump on the chance to do a story like this.
Most importantly it shows why narrative-as-newswriting can work, but also what you need to make it work. For me, it reinforces that you can't impose narrative on a news event simply because you want to write it that way; but if you know what you need to do that and are ready to recognize those elements when you see them, you can jump on the chance to do a story like this.
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